Hmmm. I think it’s fair to say that the Albanians didn’t endear themselves to the MSM with their rapturous welcome for President Bush. But Investors Business Daily suggests that the Albanians know something that we don’t:
“Not even the most dedicated Republicans in this country could work up such an spirited greeting. Albanians, however, are people who felt for decades the crush and the slash of the hammer and sickle of communism, and they weren’t shy about displaying their affection for a man who represents to them independence, opportunity, prosperity and the protection of liberty across the world. They appreciate what most Americans take for granted each day.
“‘Bush is the president of the world. He is like a king to me,’ Arian Geka told the Australian newspaper, showing that even an 18-year-old student in Islamic Albania knows more about life in our world than tens of millions who live insular existences in the U.S.
“Albania is a nation of nearly 3.7 million located just across the Adriatic Sea from the heel of Italy’s boot. It is a painfully poor country, among the poorest in Europe, recovering from nearly a half-century of communist rule that left it rusted and broke.
“In contrast, the U.S. is a fabulously prosperous nation of 300 million people, many of them spoiled – even troubled and guilt-ridden – by their liberty and wealth. These Americans are missing the story that the Albanians and many others have been for so long yearning to live.”